Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Public Reporting As A Communication Tool To Aid Vulnerable Consumers In Healthcare Decisions: What Do We Know?, Daniel R. Longo, Barbara A. Wright

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Background/Introduction:

There is tremendous variation in quality, healthcare service utilization and disparities experienced by the poor, certain minorities, and other priority populations. Public reporting is identified as one method of bringing these differences to light and by informing consumers through documented comparison of provider performance to influence change and encourage improvement in healthcare. The federal Accountable Care Act has the stated mandate “to improve the dissemination of measures of healthcare quality and resource use, (and) to build the science of public reporting.” However, early studies on the design and use of consumer reports cite the public’s confusion and lack of …